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From the ArchivesSeptember 1938: last-minute appeals for moderation as Hitler builds upforces on the Czech border
This week we continue our look into the dramatic events in Czechoslovakia
just before World War Two. By the summer of 1938, Hitler’s Germany was
demanding nothing less than the immediate annexation of the entire
Sudetenland – all parts of Bohemia and Moravia with a German speaking
majority. The Sudeten German Party had made big gains among German
speakers
in local elections earlier that year, and the Nazi rhetoric of their
leaders was unambiguous. More
Current AffairsAugust 21, 1968: the hopes of a generation crushed
On August 21 1968, people woke up to discover that the dream of freedom
they were living in the late 1960s had turned into a nightmare. Thirty-nine
years ago, the streets of Prague and other cities and towns in
Czechoslovakia were full of the tanks and soldiers of five armies led by
the Soviet Union. Today, we look back at the anniversary of what for Czechs
and Slovaks was one of the formative moments of the 20th century.
More
Current AffairsOwners of privatised companies may start worrying as Prague court sets precedent in restitution battles
The Prague City Court has made a ruling that could set a precedent in
restitution battles. It has become the first court in the country to order
compensation for confiscated property to come from the property's latest
owner and not from the state.
More
Current Affairs68 years since the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia
This Thursday marks the 68th anniversary of the Nazi occupation of
Czechoslovakia. For six years, the country suffered under the control of
Adolf Hitler. More
SpecialOccupation, Esperanto and Mushrooms: 70 years of Radio Prague throughthearchives
If we delve into the Czech Radio archives, we find recordings in English
going right back to Radio Prague's beginnings 70 years ago. Some of the
extracts we are going to feature in this programme have not been aired for
well over half a century. They capture some of the most interesting and
dramatic moments in our history. More
Current AffairsAlois Elias: Adding poison to paradox
The role of the wartime Prime Minister Alois Elias in resisting the Nazi
occupation has always been considered an ambiguous one. While the stance
of the Protectorate government at the time was without doubt
collaborationist, Elias himself still tried to uphold the integrity of the
Czech people. Now new evidence has emerged showing his involvement in a
plot to assassinate a number of prominent Nazi journalists, making it
increasingly clear that Elias was anything but a traitor. More
PanoramaCzechoslovakia: 'Island of Democracy' and refuge between the wars
Czechoslovakia was one of the few states in Europe between the wars with a
genuine parliamentary democracy. The First Republic, as it became known,
was a multiethnic one: apart from Czechs and Slovaks, nearly a quarter of
its people were ethnic Germans; the Tesin region in the north had a large
Polish minority, while South Slovakia and Ruthenia were home to some
three-quarters of a million Hungarians. Up until the Munich Pact of 1938
and subsequent Nazi occupation, Czechoslovakia was a magnet for refugees
from Hitler's Germany, communist Russia, Ukraine, and elsewhere, says Dr
David Kraft, curator of the new exhibit "Exile in Prague and
Czechoslovakia 1918-1938". More
Current AffairsThe complex legacy of the president many would prefer to forget
A handful of people gathered on Monday at Prague's Vinohrady Cemetery to
mark the 60th anniversary of the death of Czechoslovakia's third
President, Emil Hacha. It was an event that wasn't marked with pomp and
ceremony: Emil Hacha remained in office throughout the German wartime
occupation, and he is remembered by many as a symbol of wartime
collaboration. David Vaughan reports. More
Talking PointForced displacement of Czech population under Nazis in 1938 and 1943
The transfer of the German-speaking minority from Czechoslovakia after the
end of the Second World War remains the topic of discussions between Czech
politicians and their counterparts and pressure groups in Germany and
Austria. It is also a subject of extensive historical research. Much less
is known about the mass exodus of the Czech population from the border
regions of Bohemia and Moravia, surrendered to Nazi Germany following the
Munich Agreement in 1938.
More
Current AffairsCzechs mark 65th anniversary of Munich Agreement
It's 65 years today since the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy
gathered in Munich to sign a document which would have lasting
consequences not only for Czechoslovakia but also the whole of Europe.
Under the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia's German-speaking border
regions were sliced off and handed to Nazi Germany, in what has been
described as one of the greatest betrayals of the 20th century. Rob
Cameron looks back at Munich 1938.
More
